Our journey down the rabbit hole into the wonderful world of the arts...

Monday, 21 July 2014

Illustrious Birthdays (and a Giveaway)

Don't worry, it's the angle, Peppa's snout is not in jeopardy...

We celebrated a couple of significant birthdays in our household yesterday. One of Culturebaby's favourite things is having a regular *she clarifies in case we didn't know* 'pretend' birthday. If they are lucky, her soft toys get a turn too. Yesterday, however, was different. As readers will know, my attempts at domesticity in the form of baking are far and few between, and whilst a few months ago you witnessed shocking scenes of actual bread-making in celebration of literary prowess, the culinary arts are not really my bag. However, nothing short of the best would do for our illustrious pair, so I donned my metaphorical apron, scooped up our soggy bananas, and a tutu-clad Culturebaby and I made a cake. We really enjoyed it.... and, I'm informed (in what I hope wasn't solely a show of sympathetic support from Culturedad) it tasted good. Hurrah!

Peppa and George feature in many of our projects. Here they are enjoying Matisse.

A good friend of mine will no doubt chortle when she reads that her campaign to ensure I recognised the educational merits of introducing a tiny pink pig named Peppa to my two year old was rather a successful one. Shortly after, my champion charity shopping mother acquired a soft toy and series of Peppa books, gave them to Culturebaby, and the victory was sealed. I've since become rather a fan of these endearing picture books, which simply but cleverly address every manner of toddler quandry and new experience in an encouraging way. Peppa is, of course, the stereotypical pre-schooler, and for all her swimming, recycling and artistic experimentation, she likes nothing more than jumping in muddy puddles. We went to see a touring musical performance featuring our porcine friend this year and Culturebaby was gripped throughout. Peppa and George are here to stay.

Culturebaby was therefore delighted to receive an advance copy of a new title The Big Tale of Little Peppa, published a few days ago, to celebrate 10 years of Peppa Pig's conquest of family homes across the land. Peppa, now of course a 'big girl', is faced with a baby picture of her and her friend Suzy Sheep. She insists that it cannot be her; she was never a baby. Consequently, her parents take her on a wonderful journey of enlightenment; showing her (and us) something of her earliest days - including the advent of George and his Dinosaur. Grrrr! This nostalgic book also provides a great opportunity to unearth the baby pictures to share with your own toddler. Culturebaby, for one, likes little more than examining old photographs of herself and her pals.

We also decided to utilise the cake, given my baking attempts occur with the approximate frequency of sightings of Halley's comet, to celebrate another children's literary hero. As readers will know, for the first time in 50 years the text of Dick Bruna's classic Miffy series has undergone a revamp for
today's tots by award winning poet Tony Mitton. In February we were lucky enough to meet Miffy at a star-studded launch of the first tranche of new titles (see here) and we have just received the next four wonderful titles to enjoy this summer. With her penchant for birthday celebrations, one of these - the new Miffy's Birthday - was always going to be a winner. Miffy's day is simple but joy-filled - family, friends, a special dinner and some thoughtful little gifts. No mortgage-creating, fully catered, underwater soft-play trampolining bonanza for 70. This is old school and heart-warming. The book even features the arrival of Miffy's iconic teddy bear, which my creative Dad turned into a home-made wooden jigsaw for me as a child. Miffy and I go way back...

But where was Miffy's cake? Given that we were celebrating Miffy's real (re-)Birthday a cake really was necessary. We got to work. Miffy clearly appreciated it, whilst Peppa couldn't keep her snout out of the tin...

My mother's banana cake is the stuff of legend amongst my old school friends. I gather the original recipe came from an old blender pamphlet, but it is frankly better than its humble origins. The blender was long ago consigned to the dump, but the scrap of paper remains. If you and your little ones fancy replicating Peppa and Miffy's birthday cake here are the simple instructions, which even I failed to mess up, complete with banana stains dating to antiquity:

To celebrate Peppa's 10th birthday we are excited to be running our very first giveaway. The lovely people at Ladybird have offered a copy of The Big Tale of Little Peppa to three of our UK based readers. Do enter using the simple Rafflecopter below, and please share the love with other Peppa fans you know.